Mooring systems are common marine floating devices and accessories and are often used to moor a watercraft in circumstances where docks are unavailable and/or the water in proximity of the desired mooring location is too shallow for the watercraft to safely navigate.
A conventional mooring system is shown in FIG. 1. This system includes a mooring buoy that floats on the surface of the water and identifies the location of the mooring. Beneath the visible buoyant portion are one or more chains or other flexible lines attached at on end to the submerged end of the buoy and at the other end to a heavy anchor, which sits on the floor of the body of water. These chains and anchor are often made of a great deal of valuable metal, such as stainless steel, that can cost in upwards of one thousand dollars to replace if stolen. In the system shown in FIG. 1, a pickup buoy is attached to a mooring line and allows for easy attachment of the line to the watercraft when in proximity of the mooring buoy. However, the use of a pickup buoy is optional and, for the reasons explained below, a pickup buoy is not used in connection with the present invention.
The floating top portion of the mooring buoy and the pickup buoy each advertises the location of valuable items to steal and resell without the perpetrator even having to break and enter. Therefore there is a need for a submersible buoy that may be hidden from sight when not in use, thus protecting it and its components from theft.
In addition to the risk of theft, when used in lakes and other bodies of fresh water in cold weather climates, traditional buoys must be removed from the water before these water bodies freeze, in order to prevent loss or damage. This typically occurs in late fall, when water temperatures begin to dip toward freezing, and early spring, when water temperatures begin to rise above freezing. These removals and placements often require diving to the bottom of the body of water to free the anchor in the fall and to set the anchor in the spring. As this is the case, boat owners often need to pay a diver to perform this task each year. Accordingly, rather than removing and replacing the buoy in the fall and spring, respectively, there is a need for a submersible buoy that may be submerged during winter months and floated to the surface once the body of water is free of ice.
Buoys may also act as obstructions to watercraft. Being able to submerge such buoys so that they are not in the way when not in use is another advantage of a submersible buoy. Finally, buoys often mark the location of lobster traps, crab pots, or other devices for catching seafood. Again, such buoys advertise the location of easily stolen seafood and equipment.
Some attempts have been made to design submersible buoys, but each has substantial drawbacks. U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,956 to Yeomans, for example, discloses a submersible buoy. The submersible buoy disclosed therein will sink with the bleeding of air through an opening or rise with a supply of compressed air. Unfortunately, the compressed air is supplied from shore mounted compressors through hose lines. The buoy must therefore be tethered through hose lines. This makes the apparatus not only unwieldy, but likely traceable or otherwise locationally identifiable even when submerged.
International Application No. PCT/AU98/00227 also discloses a submersible and retrievable buoy. This buoy includes a length of rope wound around a spool-shaped body, with one end of the length affixed to the body and one end affixed to an anchor of sorts, such as a crab pot. A free portion of the rope is tied or otherwise securely fastened to a rope shackle pin. When the body is submerged, the rope shackle pin is retained between jaws disposed on the buoy body. When the body is retrievable at the surface of the water, the rope shackle pin is released from the jaws. The release of the pin from the jaws allows the rope wound around the buoy body to unravel so that the buoy body may float to the surface. The retention of the pin in the jaws does not allow this unraveling so that the rope remains wound around the body and close to the anchor. The buoy includes a signal receiver configured to receive a remotely transmitted signal containing information about when the rope release apparatus is desired to be actuated. The signal can be initiated by either a controller or by a timer. Although this buoy represents a significant improvement over other prior art, it relies upon mechanical components that are prone to malfunctioning and failure, especially in environments in which ice and other contaminants are allowed to build upon the rope.